


Face Down

by marvel_ling



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abuse, Cheating, Choking, Derogatory Language, Dubious Consent, Explicit Language, F/M, Manipulation, Physical Abuse, Punching, Sexual Abuse, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 11:40:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9818858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvel_ling/pseuds/marvel_ling
Summary: Sakura starts to date her dream man. Things do not go as planned when she finds out he's abusive. Based on the song "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: This fic contains descriptions of abuse. Proceed at your own risk.  
> Also, I'd like to say that I don't hate Sasuke. This is just a work of fiction.

Sakura had idolized Sasuke Uchiha for years. She had a crush on him all the way through school, doodling his name on her notebooks (boy, was she embarrassed when “Mrs. Uchiha” showed up on one of her assignments), but she never approached him. No one did, in fact. Sasuke was handsome and unapproachable. He had a quiet, easy going nature that made everyone around him that much more infatuated with him. He was perfect in school. He had amazing grades; Teachers were always commending him on his high marks. His family was notable for their high intelligence. His older brother had moved on through college and went on to become a lawyer. His father was the head of the police unit. His mother was a noted writer and motivational speaker for women. He had respect just by being Uchiha, but he never did anything that would squander the admiration he had been granted.

Sakura, on the other hand, had to work tooth and nail to get to where she was. Her parents were laundromat owners, not too bad, but didn’t have the level of respect given to the Uchiha. They were lovably ignorant of Sakura’s achievements and her goals. She wanted to move on to become a doctor. A big dream for such a small, unassuming girl. Sakura had a few friends, but only one she was really close with – Ino Yamanaka. Ino was beautiful, popular, and streetwise. She knew how to coast by and use her looks to her advantage. She would boast about sleeping with teachers for better grades, ideas Sakura never really entertained. They probably weren’t true, until Ino got an A- on a paper she half-assed, then Sakura believed there was _some_ truth to them. Nonetheless, Ino was nice to her and that was all that mattered.

It was Ino, that crazy blonde, that Sakura told when Sasuke asked her out. It was summertime after graduation. They were now free for the first time in years. That is, until college creeped up on them in the fall.

“Fuck college, I already have a job. I’mma get me a sugar daddy.” Ino had stated crudely over coffee one afternoon.

“Ino,” Sakura sighed in exasperation. “Don’t you think you should try to expand your options?”

“Well, my family owns the shop that I work for... so it’s not like my job is in jeopardy. And I’d make a perfect trophy wife. I mean, who wouldn’t want me?” she winked suggestively. Sakura rolled her eyes, but smiled. She loved how carefree her friend was. Unfortunately for Sakura her life was about college, more college, degrees, internships, and finding a way to pay for it all. She didn’t have time to think about such things. Her life had taken a very strict, regimented path. One that, she admits, had probably stunted her social abilities. But she was on the road to success. She finished high school, was entering college, going to get her PhD, then she’d think about finding a husband and maybe have a kid or two.

That was all interrupted when Sasuke had asked her out. She had never had a boyfriend before, but she had fantasized about this boy for ages. Flustered, she accepted to going out with him. He had smiled at her, his head tilted to the side as one would toward a fool.

She felt like a fool too.

Ino had freaked out when Sakura told her.

“He is so fucking hot! You are so lucky, damn it! He’s never dated anyone that I know of,” the blonde sat back in complete shock, then leaned forward coyly. “You have to fuck him, then tell me how big he is. I _have_ to know.”

“Ino!” Sakura hissed and whipped her head around the coffee shop, hoping that no one had heard her friend’s remark. “It’s not even like that. He just asked if I wanted to go to lunch. Speaking of, this has been nice, but I have to go meet him.”

Sakura stood up and gathered her empty coffee cup, wallet, phone, and jacket. Ino started to protest, but sighed as her friend left the shop.

* * *

 

Sakura apologized profusely for being late when she arrived at the restaurant that Sasuke told her to meet him at. He was amused and told her that she was cute when she was embarrassed.

“You’re not even ten minutes late.” he added.

“I-,” she glanced up at the clock, then down at her watch, now even more embarrassed that her watch was wrong. “I’m sorry.”

“Okay, breathe. Start over. Good afternoon Sakura. Nice to see you.” he smiled.

“Nice to see you too, Sasuke. Thanks for taking me to lunch.” Sakura nervously reached for her ice water, but misjudged the depth and knocked it over. “Oh no!”

A waiter rushed over with napkins and apologized, telling her they’d replace the water immediately. Sakura was mortified.

“Are you always so clumsy?” Sasuke asked when the area had been cleared, mostly dried off, and a fresh glass of water had been set down.

“Er, no. Not really. I had a coffee date with Ino, I guess I am jumpy because of the caffeine.” she reasoned.

“Ino? The blonde Yamanaka slut? I didn’t realize you were into girls.” he mentioned casually.

“I- wha…no! Oh my god, no! I didn’t mean,” she stopped when she realized that he was making fun of her again. She turned red, then puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

“Relax, I’m just having fun.” he grinned mischievously, then bit the top off a bread stick. That damn smirk. It made Sakura’s stomach do somersaults. She had fixated on that smirk for years, and now, finally, it was directed at her.

“Don’t think I can’t take a joke. I’m just not used to that type of humor.” she replied rather primly.

“Well, you’ve been hanging around the wrong people,” Sasuke leaned forward. “My humor’s a little fucked up, despite my reputation.”

He sat back and flipped through the menu quickly, then waved at the waiter.

“Yes, sir?”

“Yeah, I’d like my usual. And for the lady, hmm, the salad. And bring us some fruit after. Thank you.” Sasuke said. The waiter took the menus and nodded, leaving hurriedly.

Sakura was a little annoyed at him for ordering for her. But he invited her, she shouldn’t be rude. He obviously knew what he was doing.

“So, going to college?” Sasuke asked. She nodded.

“I want to be a doctor.”

“Impressive. I didn’t picture doctor. I pictured like an artist or something.”

“Well,” she cleared her throat and smiled. “What do you want to do? I know your brother is a lawyer. Are you going to follow in his footsteps?”

“Nah. Itachi is a showoff. Honestly, I haven’t thought about it. My dad’s paying for my school, so I’m kind of rolling with it.” Sasuke shrugged. Sakura was dumbfounded.

“But, but you always did so well in school. How do you not know what you want to do?” she sputtered.

“You sound like my mom.”

Then the subject was dropped. They didn’t talk much until the food arrived. Sasuke stared at her for an uncomfortable amount of time, as if to dare her to say something. Sakura fiddled with her napkin, and drank her water. The waiter had to refill it twice.

When their food came, Sakura was astounded by the small portion she was served. Meanwhile, Sasuke had a huge bowl of soup and a side of dumplings. She ate her salad slowly, even though by this time she was starving and could eat through three portions of salad at least. Sakura was delighted with the fruit at least. They each got their own portion that was decently sized.

Sakura ate her fruit slowly, and looked up at Sasuke every now and then to see if he was looking at her. He wasn’t. He seemed to be focused on anything but her – his fruit, the wall, other patrons. She was a little put off by the fact that he asked her out, but didn’t seem to be interested in asking her anything about herself.

She sighed internally. At least she had the experience of being asked out. Yes, that was nice, she reconciled. Even if it didn’t lead to anything with Sasuke at least she had a nice story to tell.

“Ready to go?” he asked suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up and nodded. She gathered her things and they headed to the front where the hostess was standing. He got her attention and said, “It’s been taken care of. Uchiha.”

The hostess nodded. Sasuke led them outside.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home.” he said. Sakura says nothing and they begin to walk toward her home.

“Thanks for taking me out, Sasuke.” she said after a moment of silence.

“Yeah.”

“I appreciate it.”

“What? You say that like you’ve never been on a date before.” he snorts.

“Well, I-“

“Oh my god, you haven’t been on a date.” he laughs loudly to add to her humiliation.

“It hasn’t been important to my life. Dates won’t get me a PhD!” she snapped. A chill ran down her spine. She thought she had just made a major mistake, snapping at Sasuke Uchiha like that. When she dared look over, she saw him smiling amusedly toward her.

“If that suits you.”

They were quiet the rest of the walk. When they reached Sakura’s door, she thanked him again.

“I want to see you again.” he cut her off.

“I- Uh, really?”

“Yeah, you interest me.”

Sakura blushed. She interested him? She couldn’t fathom how that could even be.

“Sure! You can just text-“ she unlocked her phone and he grabbed it, putting his phone number in.

“Great. I’ll text you later.” he smirked, handed her phone over, then started walking away.

“Good night, Sasuke!” she called after him, flustered at his abrupt exit. He half-waved back. Sakura sighed. She wasn’t sure how to feel about her first date with Sasuke Uchiha.


	2. Chapter 2

As promised, Sasuke had text her almost an hour after he left her place. He asked her if she wanted to come over to his house the following day. She waited a few minutes before replying a simple: “Sure.” She wanted to seem aloof and mysterious. And totally not like she was freaking out.

She text Ino immediately.

_Sasuke asked me to go over to his place tomorrow_

**_OMG he wants to fuck you!!!!_ **

_What? It’s not like that. We’ve only been out once._

**_Girl, trust me, I know guys. They don’t invite you over to their houses after one date to just hang out!_ **

_Well…maybe._

**_I swear! You should probably make sure you’re prepared, just in case…_ **

_???_

**_Shave. Everywhere._ **

_Right okay…_

* * *

 

That conversation was the reason why Sakura was now uncomfortable from being so smoothly shaven. She had never been bare; it made her feel vulnerable. She had walked over to Sasuke’s, he had text her his address, at 1 pm. She knocked on his door and waited patiently.

Sasuke opened the door. He was wearing sweatpants and a black t-shirt, which made Sakura feel immediately overdressed. She had put on a white blouse and tucked it into a pink skirt that ended just above her knees, and paired it with pink flats.

“You look good.” he said. She looked away from his face, embarrassed, so she didn’t see the hungry look in his eye as his eyes raked over her form.

“Thank you.”

“We’re just hanging out here. Hopefully you’ll be comfortable.” Sasuke gestured her inside. She slipped off her shoes when she entered the house, and followed the boy upstairs.

“So, is your family here?” she asked, hoping to divert attention away from herself.

“No. Itachi is away on a case, Dad is at work, and Mom is getting groceries, but she won’t be home for a while.” he replied.

_Ah, crap. Ino was right. Family conveniently away?_ Sakura’s heart thudded nervously as she contemplated her options. She could tell him straight off that she doesn’t do that sort of thing, or she could say she only had a little while to hang out because she doubted he would just jump straight into sex. Or she could just go along with what he wanted to do.

“Go ahead and sit on my bed.”

Sakura blinked. She had been contemplating her situation so intently that she didn’t realize they had turned into his room. It was large. Bigger than her room by a decent amount. The walls were half wood paneled on the bottom and painted a lovely shade of blue on top.

The centerpiece of the room was the high arched window on the opposite wall. Right under it was a very large, comfortable looking bed. Sakura walked slowly over to it and perched herself on the edge of it. Across from his bed was a TV and next to that was a bookcase that was filled with DVDs and video games.

Sasuke picked a random movie and climbed on his bed.

“What are you doing all the way over there? Come here.” he smacked the spot next to him. Sakura laughed, hoping that she was coming off coy, and placed her purse on the floor at the foot of the bed. She climbed over to him and cuddled into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. She felt his thumb running along her hip. Sakura glanced up at him only to notice that he was already looking at her. He kissed her gently to test her reaction. When she didn’t move, or stop him, he moved his hand under her skirt, and squeezed her ass. Sasuke gazed at her with dark eyes, and continued to gauge her reaction.

Her heart was beating hard in her chest. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Yet, she was exhilarated at the same time. This was it. She was about to lose her virginity, and to Sasuke!

He rolled his body on top of hers, and slipped his leg between hers. Sakura felt herself turn beet red. Sasuke kissed her again – harder this time – and trailed his hand to her blouse. He unbuttoned it, slowly. He was giving her plenty of time to back out, or he was just teasing her.

He turned his attention to her lower half, yanking up her skirt and slipping a hand into her panties. His fingers ran across her slit causing her to shiver. Sasuke moved his mouth to her neck; licking and sucking, even biting gently across the pale flesh.

“Sasuke…” she gasped his name involuntarily. He moved away for a moment, leaning over to a drawer in his nightstand. When he resumed his position on top of her, he stripped off her panties and tossed them to the side. Sasuke moved her left leg so he was sitting perfectly between her legs. Sakura watched his head bent over in concentration. He looked up suddenly, and grasped her legs pulling her closer to him. She felt him start to push in, then a sharp pain. A burning sensation filled her when he was fully sheathed inside her. Tears sprung to her eyes. Sakura grasped his sheets tightly. Sasuke thrust a few times into her. She couldn’t help herself and moaned again.

He pulled out, motioning for her to turn over. Sakura complied. He flipped her skirt back up, and pushed himself back into her. Sasuke reached his left hand forward to grasp her hair.

“Just like that.” he murmured. His hand came down and smacked her ass as he began thrusting hard into her. Sakura let out a strangled moan. He pulled her hair harder. She wanted to tell him that it hurt, but he was in a rhythm. She could hear him curse under his breath.

“Sasuke.” she moaned his name over and over.

“Good… good slut.” he murmured, rubbing and squeezing her ass.

“Wha- what?” Sakura questioned. That didn’t sound right. Sasuke let go of her hair so he could lean his body across hers.

“That’s a good slut. Your body is so perfect,” he groaned into her shoulder. His left hand snaked its way under her torso up to her breast. “Moan for me again.”

“S-Sasuke…” she complied.

“Such a good whore.” he murmured.

Whore, slut? Sakura had never had sex before! She thought to herself that she was done with him. She didn’t like being treated this way. She wished he would hurry up and finish so she could leave and never see him again.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” he gasped. “So tight for me. Perfect slut. My perfect little slut.”

Sakura was ready to cry. After a few more thrusts, Sasuke comes. He pulls out of her and immediately stands up to dispose of the condom. Sakura turns over slowly.

So, that was it. She wasn’t a virgin anymore.

When Sasuke climbed back on the bed he helped her fix her clothes, even grabbing her panties for her, and smoothed her hair down.

“Sorry, for what I said. It’s just something I say,” he smiled sheepishly. “I don’t really think you’re a slut.”

“Well I should hope not! I was a virgin.” Sakura snapped. She couldn’t stop herself. She was actually very hurt by his careless act. His eyes widened.

“Oh! Oh my god, I am sorry! I should have realized. Sakura, please forgive me.” he seemed genuinely embarrassed.

“I do,” she replied. “Honestly, I’m glad you were my first.”

“Really? Even though I called you a slut and a whore? I swear, if I would have realized, I would have made it so much more special.” he caressed her face, running a thumb across her cheek.

“Well,” she felt bold. “We’ll just have to do it again.”

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. Then he wrapped his arms around her, resuming the cuddling position they were in earlier.

“We definitely will.” he murmured.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few days the pair continued to text each other. Sasuke took her out to lunch on one occasion, they saw a movie on another, and they went for a walk in the park. Sasuke didn’t mention her visit to his house. He was very sweet; opening doors for her, holding her hand, and asking her what she wanted to do. It was clear to Sakura that their first encounters were just misunderstood. At the end of one of their dates, Sasuke asked her to be his girlfriend. She accepted of course. They were sitting on the steps in front of Sasuke’s house, watching the sun start to set.

“I’m glad. I really like you, Sakura.” he said and kissed her temple.

“I like you too, Sasuke.” she smiled.

“Aw, you ‘just’ like me? I _really_ like you,” he teased. He nudged her shoulder with his. Sakura blushed. “I guess I’ll just have to kiss you until you really like me.” His hands snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him. He attacked her neck and cheek with kisses. She laughed, she was ticklish, and struggled to get away from his loving assault.

“I really like you! I do! Really!” she nearly screamed, unable to control her giggles or her volume.

“Sasuke.” A new voice was heard across the yard. The two teens stopped in their tracks to see where it was coming from. Sasuke immediately recognized the figure, and dropped his arms. Sakura had a good guess as to whom the man was.

“Itachi.” Sasuke grumbled. His older brother, Itachi Uchiha, walked up to them. Itachi was a few inches taller than Sasuke, and extremely slender in his suit. He had long hair tied at the nape of his neck and kind eyes.

“Well, little brother, aren’t you going to introduce us?” he asked. The teens stood up. Sakura shook his hand.

“I’m Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet you, Itachi.” she smiled.

“She’s my girlfriend.” Sasuke grumbled under his breath.

“Yes, I concluded that from your extremely public display of affection. Nice to meet you, Sakura.” the elder Uchiha nodded towards her. They moved out of the way as Itachi walked inside the house.

“He’s such a pain in the ass.” Sasuke huffed as they resumed their spot on the porch.

“He seems nice.” she commented.

“You really just met him the once. He’s such a perfect annoying goody two shoes.”

She frowned, then decided to just drop it. Like he said, she had only met him once. Maybe he really was a jerk. A few minutes later, Itachi stuck his head out of the door to ask Sakura if she was staying for dinner. Sakura agreed.

“Well, since you’re staying for dinner, how about you stay the night?” her now boyfriend winked at her.

“Would your parents even allow that?” she asked incredulously.

“I don’t think they’d care.” Sasuke grinned wickedly.

“I guess so.” she blushed, knowing exactly why he wanted her to stay over. He had been a gentleman, and Sakura felt like she could at least indulge him in this one thing.

As soon as they were about to head inside for dinner, Sakura’s phone rang.

“Hold on. It’s Ino,” Sakura answered the phone. “Hello Ino…yes, yes I am. Oh… really? Oh no! Okay, I’ll be right over!”

Sasuke was waiting for her to explain. Sakura hung up the phone.

“Sasuke, I’m so sorry, but Ino needs me right now. It’s kind of an emergency. So, raincheck? I apologize.” she said quickly.

“I… yeah, okay. Text me later.” was the reply.

“I’m so sorry.” she gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.

“It’s fine. See you.”

Sakura couldn’t focus on his callous reaction; she was too worried about her friend. She ran over to Ino’s as quickly as she could.


	4. Chapter 4

Ino answered the door with messy hair, wearing a tank top and shorts. Sakura pulled her immediately into a hug.

“What happened?” she asked as soon as the door to Ino’s apartment was shut. The blonde led her over to the couch.

“I thought everything was okay. He said he pulled out.” Ino’s voice turned into a garbled mess of thick tears.

“Who?”

Ino was quiet for a long minute, then answered: “Asuma.”

“Asu- Sarutobi!? You mean the teacher?” Sakura sucked in a breath and closed her mouth. Now was not the time to chew out her friend for sleeping with an older man, an older man who was their teacher (though Sakura was sure this wasn’t this first time), and not to mention an older man who was married. Sakura was certain she had seen Asuma’s wife, Kurenai, a few days earlier and she also seemed to be pregnant.

“What am I going to do?” Ino wailed.

“Shh, it’ll be okay.” she tried to say in a comforting tone. “You aren’t… I mean, you should consider your options. Have you talked to him?”

“No I haven’t talked to him! What am I going to say? ‘Oh, hey Asuma, yeah you got an 18-year-old pregnant, how’s the wife?’” she threw up her hands.

“Are you sure you’re pregnant?”

“Yes. I missed my period, I’ve been feeling off, and I went and bought three tests.” she sighed.

“We’ll figure it out.” Sakura gave her a kind smile.

The blonde sat back and sucked on her teeth, then turned her head to Sakura. She asked how Sasuke was doing. Sakura blushed and replied that he was fine.

“Have you fucked yet?”

“Ino!”

“What!? I want to know! I’m in a predicament, I’m just making sure you don’t do the same thing.” she smiled wryly.

“If you must know… yes.” Sakura cringed at the scream that assaulted her ear.

“Tell me! Tell me everything!”

Sakura heaved a sigh and thought a moment. She spoke very vaguely and managed to tell the story without much detail. Ino was disappointed.

“I wanna know how big he is!” she whined.

“Well,” the pinkette bit her lower lip. “He’s _my_ boyfriend, so I don’t want to divulge that information. It’s private.”

“Oh my god, you slut.” the blonde huffed.

Sakura involuntarily cringed at the term.

“You came from his place, right?”

“Yeah, we were just about to have dinner.” Sakura left out the part where he asked her to spend the night.

“Oh, have you not eaten? I’m so sorry. I think I have left overs in the fridge. Or we could order in.”

Sakura got up and rifled through the fridge.

“How old is this?” she asked, holding out a container of stir fry. Ino had followed her into the kitchen and inspected it.

“Um…two days. Wait, no, I had this when Asuma came over. So, yeah we should throw it away.”

Sakura shook her head. Her friend was not known for making the best decisions. They ordered food, and sat together on the couch.

Sasuke text Sakura at 11 pm.

_Miss you._

**_I miss you too. I’m so sorry that I had to leave._ **

_Stop apologizing._

_You’ll just have to make it up to me later ;)_

**_I will._ **

_Tomorrow._

**_I think I can come over tomorrow._ **

_I’m certain you can._

**_I’m really tired, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night._ **

_Ok, good night._

Sakura set her phone down and curled up on Ino’s couch. She attempted to fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura woke up to six texts and the sound of Ino throwing up. The pink haired girl sighed, and stretched. She went to Ino’s bathroom and knocked softly.

“Ino, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” came the shaky reply.

Sakura went back to the couch. She assumed Ino would call her if she needed something. It was just morning sickness, and Sakura figured she’d be okay soon enough. She unlocked her phone to read through the messages Sasuke had sent her.

_Babe I can’t wait to see you tomorrow (Sent 12:03)_

_I’m sad you didn’t get to eat dinner with us, it was really good. (Sent 12:05)_

_We’ll have to reschedule that. (Sent 12:06)_

_I can’t stop thinking about you. (Sent 12:38)_

_You should stay the night tonight. (Sent 12:50)_

_Sorry I know you are probably asleep. I just really want you in my bed. (Sent 1:00)_

Sakura found herself smiling. He really missed her. She glanced at the clock and decided to reply.

**_Hey, it was really sweet to wake up to these messages. Personally, I would rather wake up next to you._ **

She sent the message, then went to the kitchen to see what she could make for breakfast. Ino probably wasn’t going to eat, but she was definitely hungry. Rummaging through the cupboards she couldn’t find much. Sakura sighed. She’d have to go shopping for Ino. She decided to put on her shoes and head to the store.

“Ino, I’m getting you groceries. You really don’t have anything to eat.” she announced.

“Oh, thank you! I’ve been meaning to. I’m just depressed.” the blonde replied. She went into her room and came back with her purse. “Take my wallet. Make sure to get me some fruits! I really want fruit!”

“A little early to have cravings, isn’t it?” Sakura teased. Ino shot her an unamused look. “I’m kidding. I’ll get you a little of everything.”

Sakura took her phone and Ino’s wallet and headed to the store. She noticed that Sasuke had already replied.

_Well, babe, you can wake up next to me tomorrow. When you coming over??_

She tapped out a quick reply.

**_I’m getting Ino some groceries. I’ll be over right after. I have to get some clothes from home first though. I promise. It’ll take me like an hour._ **

_Ugh, hurry up. I miss you._

Sakura grinned.

**_I miss you too._ **

* * *

 Sakura helped Ino put away the groceries she had bought. Then she told her that she was going over to Sasuke’s.

“Okay. Thanks so much for helping me. Go get it.” Ino winked.

“You’re pregnant and you’re telling me that.” Sakura sighed in exasperation. Ino laughed.

“Whatever. See you later.”

Off she went to her place to pick up some clothes. Sakura decided to shower and shave while she was at it. Then she went over to Sasuke’s.

Upon reaching his door, she was shocked when she was immediately pulled inside. Sasuke pushed her against the door and kissed her, the door shutting from the force.

“You lied. It’s been over an hour.” Sasuke said, breaking the kiss momentarily.

“I’m sorry. The store was hectic. Plus, I showered when I was home.”  

“I missed you.” he growled, kissing her again before she could answer. He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her to his bedroom.

* * *

 

This time was a little different than the first. Sasuke seemed to try to make her more comfortable. He started slower and built up the passion. Sakura began to enjoy his kiss, his touch. She clung to his body; her nails dug into his shoulders when he thrust just right. Sasuke grinned down at her. One of his hands slowly wrapped around her throat.

“That’s great, Sakura.” he huffed, squeezing the sides of her throat firmly. The girl underneath him stared, confused, and tried to get out of it. Between his hand and his thrusts, she was held in place. “That’s a good slut.”

Again with the slut thing? Sakura thought. She grasped his arm and weakly tried pulling him away. Tears came to her eyes. She didn’t want this. Sasuke seemed to be enjoying himself and finally came. He pulled out and released her. Sakura immediately sat up coughing.

“What the hell was that?” she nearly screamed.

“What?”

“Choking me? And calling me a slut again? I told you I don’t like that!” she cried. Sasuke frowned a little.

“Okay, okay. I apologize. It’s just, I like doing that. I’m sorry you don’t. You’re so cute when I’m fucking you.” he smiled.

“I don’t want you to do that again. I’m sorry, I just really don’t like it.” she replied quietly.

“Fine, I won’t choke you again. It wasn’t even that hard.” he mumbled as if he didn’t understand the big deal.

“Or call me a slut! That really hurts.”

“You shouldn’t be so offended if you aren’t one though.”

Sakura frowned. No, she wasn’t a slut. But that’s why she was upset. He had told her that it’s just “something he says.” Why did he enjoy degrading his girlfriend?

“It doesn’t matter why I don’t like it. You should respect me more than that.” she replied primly.

Sasuke stared at her as if to consider her words. She felt uncomfortable, as if she screwed up and he was going to break up with her.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll try really hard not to say it next time.” he grasped her forearm and dragged her into his arms. He kissed her forehead as he pulled up the covers over them. Sakura cuddled against his chest, left to wonder what just happened. The more she thought about it she started to consider the possibility that she had over reacted. It’s not like he really saw her as a slut. He said that. It was just in bed. That’s different. She shouldn’t be that mad.

“Sasuke?” she whispered.

“Hn.” came the reply.

“I’m sorry if I was mean. Maybe we can work something out. Compromise, you know?” she said as she trailed her fingers up his chest.

“That sounds good babe. We’ll talk about it later.” he breathed as he fell asleep. Sakura smiled and kissed his cheek. She closed her eyes and was soon asleep as well.


	6. Chapter 6

They were woken a few hours later by Sasuke’s brother coming into the room. The two teens jolted awake and sat up. Sakura realized they were still naked, and pulled the blanket up to cover her chest.

“You’re not supposed to have your door shut.” Itachi chastised. He glanced at a very red faced Sakura.

“Shut up. What do you want?” the younger Uchiha grumbled.

“Mom says dinner is going to be ready and she wanted me to come get you. I guess you can stay for dinner Sakura since you were already here. Though I’m not sure how to explain how you’ve been here for hours, since Sasuke is not supposed to have girls in his room.” Itachi stared at his brother, though his words were directed at Sakura.

“I’m so sorry. I asked Sasuke-”

“I can do what I want. Don’t worry about it Sakura, my parents won’t say anything.” Sasuke said. He leaned over the bed and pulled on a pair of shorts. “Get out Itachi, pervert so my girlfriend can get dressed.”

Itachi rolled his eyes. “Dinner will be ready soon. Hurry up.” he said as he turned to leave. Sasuke jumped over to shut the door.

Sakura gathered her clothes, which had been scattered when Sasuke had nearly ripped them off her earlier, and put them on. She attempted to smooth her hair while Sasuke put on a shirt.

“Are you certain your parents won’t care that I’m here?” she asked nervously.

“Of course. Itachi is just being a bitch cause he probably doesn’t get laid,” he grinned at Sakura who cringed. “That and our parents were really hard on him and not so much on me.”

Sakura was not reassured. She had not met Sasuke’s parents. She knew that his mother was a speaker and his father was a police officer, but she didn’t know what they were like.

“Don’t be freaked out.” he pulled her close and ran his thumb under her lip. She stared in his dark eyes and most of her nervousness evaporated. He’d be right there. Of course it’d be okay. He kissed her hard. His right hand trailed down her body to her hand and grabbed it.

“Let’s go.”

Sakura took comfort in having Sasuke’s hand gripping hers firmly. It held her to the ground as they walked downstairs to the dining room. They passed the large entrance and the living room to the right and walked down a hallway. They rounded a corner where a large table sat squarely in the room. Sasuke’s father and brother were already sitting at the table. His mother was placing a bowl on the table and froze when they entered. Sakura hid herself a little behind him.

“Sasuke, thanks for finally joining us. Who’s this?” his father asked. Sakura turned pink.

“This is Sakura. She’s my girlfriend.” he replied casually. Sakura tried to avoid his father’s judgmental gaze.

“Nice to meet you, Sakura. Come sit here.” his mother jumped in.

“Thank you.” she squeaked. Sasuke let her hand go as he sat down next to Itachi. Sakura walked around the table and sat in the spot that was indicated. Unfortunately, Sakura felt, next to his father at the head of the table. He eyed her.

“So, I assume you know Sasuke from school. What are your plans? If you have any…”

“I am going to college in the Fall. I want to be a doctor.” she replied proudly. She felt that his father didn’t have a high opinion of her.

“A nurse?” his father questioned.

“No, an actual doctor. I’m going to get my PhD.” she replied a little annoyed.

“Well, good luck. If you can keep up with the work.”

She was pissed at his dismissive attitude, but she bit her tongue. She didn’t want his parents to be mad at her.

“Actually, Sakura is super smart. She was top of our class, isn’t that right babe? I mean, it is kind of annoying to have a girlfriend smarter than me…but she’ll do fine.” Sasuke stepped in.

“I’m sure she’s plenty smart. Just not many girls make it through getting a PhD.” his father shrugged.

“Fugaku.” his mother chastised. Sakura looked at her, then back to Fugaku.

“I find it rather ironic how you are so clearly misogynistic, yet your wife is a motivational speaker for women. For your information, plenty of women get PhDs but not all are doctorates for medicine. I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was a child and I’ve focused my entire education around it. I guess someone who inflicts wounds wouldn’t understand why it is important.” Her heart was beating faster than it ever had before. She had never confronted anyone, let alone a man, before. Fugaku was quiet as he stared at her. Itachi was looking down into his lap with a slight trace of a smile on his face. His mother was staring at her husband, and Sasuke was also staring at Sakura.

Miraculously, Fugaku started to laugh. The tangible tension in the room seemed to deflate.

“Alright. Fair enough.”

And that was the end of it.

Sasuke pulled Sakura aside after dinner and told her that no one had ever stood up to his dad like that before. He kissed her hard.

“God, you’re so hot. Come on.” he grabbed her hand and tried to pull her upstairs.

“Sasuke…” she spoke softly. She felt weird about going upstairs to have sex yet again, especially with his parents downstairs.

“Is Sakura leaving?” Itachi asked.

“No, we’re going upstairs.” Sasuke replied firmly.

“Ask mom and dad.” his brother replied. Sasuke rolled his eyes and huffed, dragging Sakura to the kitchen where his parents were.

“Mom, Dad. Sakura and I are going upstairs, okay?” he called.

“Have fun.” his mother called. Sasuke dragged Sakura upstairs, stopping only to give Itachi a look of triumph.

Sasuke kicked his door shut.

“Sasuke, I don’t want to-”

“Relax. We won’t have sex. You can’t be opposed to making out though.” he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Sakura giggled into the kiss. He kissed her harder, running his hands over her body. He moved his mouth to her ear.

“I wish you wanted to fuck. I’m so hard right now.” he groaned. Sakura blushed. He kissed and sucked on her neck. “You don’t understand what you’re doing to me.”

Sakura wasn’t sure what she should do. She didn’t really want to have sex again, but she didn’t want to disappoint Sasuke.

“I-I guess...” she mumbled.

“Really?”

“I want to make you happy.” she murmured.

“Okay, baby, get on your knees. Now. On the floor.” he said huskily in her ear. She was a bit confused, but obeyed. She knelt down and waited for Sasuke. He stood up in front of her, having pulled out his cock. She looked up at him questioningly.

“Open your mouth.” he groaned. Sakura slowly opened her mouth and he slid himself inside, hissing in pleasure. Sakura gagged and pulled back. It was too much for her. She tried again, this time putting her mouth on the head. Sasuke placed his hand on top of her head. He murmured encouragement and instruction.

He touched her arm and gestured to raise her hand. He showed her how to stroke him with her hand.

“Fuck yes, baby.” he threw his head back. Sakura was starting to get tired and her jaw began to hurt. Sasuke’s cock was thick and decently sized. Fortunately, Sasuke instructed her to stop and made her stand up. He pushed her over the edge of the bed, pulling off her bottoms and panties.

“Wait there.” he growled and walked around the bed to grab a condom. He slid it on and positioned himself between her legs. Sakura buried her face in the mattress to quiet herself as he slid inside her.

“You’re so wet. Sucking my cock really turns you on, huh?” he chuckled. Sakura was almost certain his parents and Itachi could hear downstairs. She was waiting for one or all of them to burst in the room.

“Sasuke, Sasuke please!” she whined as quiet as she could.

“You’re so sexy. Fuck.”

He sent her over the edge with a few more thrusts. It took everything for her not to cry out. Sasuke came a minute later. Sakura felt an excessive amount of moisture from her lower region.

_That was all me?_ she thought.

“Let’s take a shower.” he slapped her ass.

“O-Okay.” she shakily stood up and pulled her bottoms up. A shower sounded nice. Sakura believed she’d be feeling this in the morning.

Sasuke left the room after throwing away the condom. When he came back, he had brought two towels. He motioned for her to follow him. She shouldn’t have been shocked, but instead of leading to an external room, he led her to a door on the left side of his TV. She had assumed it was a closet. He opened the door and flipped on the light. It was a nice sized bathroom. The counter and floor tiles were white. The lights on top of the mirror were bright, illuminating the whole room. The bath was situated on the right side. It had a dark blue shower curtain stretched across it.

“Sasuke, I don’t have anything to wear to sleep.” Sakura went ahead and assumed she’d be spending the night since it was already eight thirty.

“Sleep naked.” was the response.

“I don’t like sleeping naked. It’s uncomfortable.” she grumbled. He smiled and pressed his forehead against hers.

“You can wear my t-shirt, baby girl.” he replied. She grinned widely.

“I think I can handle that.” Sakura lifted her arms and he pulled her top over her head and tossed it on the counter. They removed each other’s clothes, then got into the shower. Sakura loved every minute of it. It was silly; they laughed while soaping each other up. He pressed her against the wall of the shower and kissed her deeply. He pulled away and turned the water off. Leaning out of the shower, he reached for a towel and handed it to Sakura. She thanked him and started to dry herself off. He grabbed his own towel.

Once they were out of the shower, Sasuke wrapped the towel around his waist and reached to open a cabinet on the right side of the mirror. Sakura could just barely see inside. It apparently held his shaving cream, extra soap and shampoo, razors, and cologne. He selected an item and closed the cabinet.

“I know girls are weird about using lotion. Here.” he handed her a bottle of citrus scented lotion.

“Thank you.” she thought it was sweet that he cared. She applied the lotion to her arms and legs while Sasuke finished drying off and put on his shorts. He gave her a clean shirt to put on, then carried her to his bed. Sakura found herself extremely tired and fell asleep in his arms almost instantly.


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura rolled over and opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she was alone in the bed. She was a little confused, wondering how long she’d been alone for, and if she should get up to go find Sasuke. Lucky for her, before she could decide, Sasuke walked in.

“Morning sleepy.” he said, crawling onto the bed with her. He kissed her head, and murmured how soft her hair was.

“Morning.” she smiled sleepily.

“Do you want to eat breakfast?”

She nodded, then sat up and stretched. He went to get her bra and the rest of her clothes. She dressed, then followed her boyfriend to the kitchen. He set them up with cereal, and sat in front of Sakura.

“Where’s everyone?” Sakura asked, noticing it was awfully quiet.

“Itachi left this morning on a case, Dad’s at work, and Mom is over at a friend’s house.” Sasuke replied.

To Sakura, it felt like they were married and having breakfast together. She stared at him; his hair was still sleep mussed and sticking in every direction. He was so cute, she thought. And her heart leapt every time she remembered that he wanted _her_. Her dream had come true.

“So, have anything planned for today?” she asked.

“I have plans with the guys, so unfortunately I can’t spend the day with you.” was the reply.

“That’s fine. I hope you have fun. I should probably check on Ino anyway.” Sakura mentioned.

“Good. I’ll text you when I’m free.”

* * *

After breakfast, Sakura gathered her purse and made sure she had everything with her.

“Alright babe, I’ll talk to you later.” she smiled and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. He kissed her lips.

“Okay, talk to you later. Say hi to Ino for me.”

She nodded, then headed off toward her friend’s place. She text Ino to let her know that she was on her way.

_Hey I’m on my way over to see how you’re doing. Lemme know if there is anything I should pick up._

A few minutes later, Sakura received a reply.

**_Now’s not a good time. Kinda busy._ **

_With what?_

**_Asuma._ **

_Oh…oh no. Well let me know what’s going on. I’ll be at home._

**_Yeah._ **

Sakura stopped in her tracks. Her plan was to go over to Ino’s and possibly stay the night there, but her friend was with Asuma. Sakura wondered if she was with Asuma, or if she was _with_ him. Was she telling him that she was pregnant? The pink haired girl sighed; she wanted her friend to use better sense.

* * *

 Well, with Sasuke and Ino both busy, Sakura was left to her own devices for the first time in a week. She went home and decided to do some laundry, and have a night in. Part of her wanted to take a bath, but she could still smell the lotion she used the previous night and the shampoo in her hair. She stopped by a store before heading home to see if she could find the lotion that she used. After a few minutes of searching, she found it, then looked at the price and set it back down.

No way, that was too much. She’d just have to ask Sasuke if she could use it again the next time she was over there.

When Sakura arrived home, her parents were relieved to see her. She hadn’t realized that she hadn’t updated them on where she was.

“I’m so sorry. It was late and Sasuke insisted I stay the night, to be safe.” she apologized.

“Well, just let us know next time.” her mother replied.

“I hope you are not getting physical with this young man.” her father added.

“Dad!” she said, embarrassed both by her father’s boldness and the fact that he was right.

“Sakura is an adult, she can make her own decisions. Use condoms dear.”

“Oh my god mom!” Sakura covered her face with her hands and walked to her room. She could still hear her parents arguing about her sex life. She holed up in her room after starting a load of laundry. She decided to get a start on her summer reading list.

* * *

 

**_Sakura, I want to see you tomorrow. (Sent 5:04)_ **

**_Please, babe. I miss you. (Sent 5:10)_ **

**_You never ignore me like this... what the fuck?? (Sent 5:20)_ **

**_I’d hate to think you were cheating on me. (Sent 5:25)_ **

_Oh my god, no!! I was reading and forgot to charge my phone. Babe, I’m so sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. (Sent 5:27)_

**_I was joking. You wouldn’t cheat on me._ **

_Of course not!_

**_Good. So I’ll see you tomorrow._ **

_Yeah, sure. Ino wasn’t able to hang out today._

No response.

_What are we doing tomorrow? (Sent 5:35)_

_Babe? (Sent 5:55)_

**_I was doing something, chill. (Sent 6:01)_ **

_Oh, I wasn’t worried about it. I was just wondering. (Sent 6:03)_

**_Don’t be so clingy. (Sent 6:10)_ **

_I wasn’t trying to be. I’m sorry. (Sent 6:12)_

No response.

Sakura frowned as the minutes ticked by with no response. She wasn’t trying to be clingy. She just wanted to talk with him. Maybe he was just busy and couldn’t talk. Maybe he was annoyed with his friends. She shrugged to herself and went to fold her laundry. Sasuke was her boyfriend. They’d see each other soon enough. Once she saw him again she’d be able to explain better than through text.


	8. Chapter 8

Sasuke did not talk to her for the rest of the night. She was a little worried that he might not want to hang out after all. Did she put her relationship in danger? Searching through her memory and rereading the texts made her think that it should be okay. Sakura felt an overwhelming sense that she messed up somehow. Her plan was to just explain herself and apologize to him in person. She thought of ways to make it up to him.

The following day, Sasuke showed up to her house at 11 am with no warning text.

“Oh, hi Sasuke! You didn’t say when we’d be hanging out.” Sakura said when she answered the door. She was already dressed as she had been up since eight o’ clock.

“Oh. Well, come on. Grab your shit, we’re going to my place.” he replied, nonchalant. Sakura smiled and nodded. She ran upstairs to grab her purse, and made sure she had her phone.

“I missed you.” Sakura said once they were headed for his place.

“Hn.” was the response.

“Did I…Sasuke? Did I make you mad? I’m sorry if I did.” she glanced up at him. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead of them.

“No.”

That was not reassuring. When they reached his place, a blonde boy was sitting on his front porch. Sakura recognized him as Naruto Uzumaki.

“Sasuke, finally!” Naruto called.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” the Uchiha asked,

“You said we were hanging out?”

“I told you we’d hang out tomorrow.”

“Well, we can still hang out! Hi!” he acknowledged Sakura.

“No. I want to have sex with my girlfriend and I don’t want you anywhere near her.” Sasuke growled.

“Ah come on! You can have sex anytime!”

“We can hang out anytime.”

“Sasuke, I don’t mind. We can, um, later…” Sakura blushed. She really didn’t want Naruto to know about their sex life.

“Fine, Naruto. An hour. That’s it.”

Naruto was about to complain, then agreed. They all headed upstairs. Naruto babbled on about something random. Sasuke rolled his eyes. He told Sakura to sit on his bed. Naruto was told to sit on the edge of the bed. After putting on a movie, Sasuke sat back with Sakura. Naruto talked through the beginning. Sasuke started kissing Sakura’s temple, and ran his hand up her thigh.

When the blonde looked back, Sasuke was lying half on top of Sakura. He was kissing her harshly.

“Oh…wow. Should I leave?” he asked, embarrassed. Sasuke turned his head to his friend.

“Unless you want to watch me fuck her, you should probably leave.” he growled. Naruto didn’t move as if he was really considering the possibility. Sasuke saw the wheels turning in his head. “Naruto, for fuck’s sake, _leave._ ”

“Okay, fine. See you later, jerk.” Naruto grumbled as he got up to leave. Sasuke yelled at him to shut his bedroom door on the way out.

“That wasn’t nice Sasuke. We can have sex anytime. He really seemed to want to hang out.” Sakura spoke up.

“God, he’s annoying. I bet he really would have stayed to watch,” Sasuke replied. “I bet you’d have liked it too.”

“No!”

“Really? What about being fucked by both of us?”

“No! I only want you.”

“What if I want you to be fucked by both of us?” he asked, removing her top. Sakura paused.

“I don’t want to be with anyone else like that.” she answered. Sasuke removed her pants.

“You wouldn’t do that for me? You wouldn’t fuck one of my friends, even if I asked you to?” he removed his own shirt.

“I’d have to think about it more, Sasuke. I’d have to trust the other person.” Sakura was uncomfortable with the idea of being shared with someone else. Even one of his friends that he trusted. It would still be weird for her. It was still weird to be intimate with Sasuke.

“I’d love to see you gang banged. You’d look so hot with multiple cocks shoved inside you.” he sighed, like he was imagining it.

“Please stop.” she wiggled out of his arms and stood up.

“Excuse me? Get back over here.”

“Sasuke, I’m really uncomfortable.” she pleaded. Sasuke climbed off after her and grabbed her arm. “Please, stop.” she repeated. He was glaring at her intensely. His hand squeezed her wrist painfully. In one quick motion Sasuke’s hand struck her cheek hard. She cried out in pain and he slapped her again.

“You need to learn to listen to me.” Sasuke said evenly. He dropped her arm and she fell to her knees. Sakura started to cry. She couldn’t believe that he hit her.

Sasuke stood above her, watching her cry. She tried to hold still and prayed he wouldn’t hit her again.

“Okay, stop crying. Sakura, stop,” he said. He knelt next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched away from him. “Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was just joking about the gang bang thing. Come here baby girl.”

Sakura dared to look at his face. He had fear in his eyes; he was afraid of what he’d done. She reached for him and he allowed her to crawl into his arms.

“I’m sorry.” her voice was thick with tears. Sasuke put his hand on the back of her head, pressing her into his shoulder.

“Baby girl, I’m sorry. I won’t do that again. I just got mad.”

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.” she replied.

“What can I do, baby? How can I make it better? I feel so bad.” he sounded on the verge of tears himself. Sakura wiped away her tears and looked him in the eyes.

“Let’s take a shower, and maybe we can go to dinner?” she asked, her voice was still shaking slightly.

“Anything, baby.”

She kissed him and smiled weakly.

“I forgive you. I know you didn’t mean to.”

He pressed his forehead against hers. He murmured over and over how sorry he was. She cuddled herself against him. Her left cheek burned from the force of his slaps. She pushed it down; Sasuke made a mistake. It was just a mistake.


	9. Chapter 9

A month after the incident things had settled into a nice routine. Sakura spent more and more time over at Sasuke’s, doing things he wanted to do which mostly consisted of having sex and watching movies. She got on his nerves a few times and she found herself apologizing profusely. He called her dumb, a bitch, and a slut. It hurt a lot, but she convinced herself that she was in love with him.

One day Sasuke surprised her by taking her to an apartment complex that was close to Ino’s.

“What’s this?” she asked. Sasuke opened the door and let her step inside.

“My new apartment.” he smiled. There were already some boxes in the living room.

“Wow! This is great.”

“Now we can be alone.” he murmured in her ear.

Sasuke showed her around the apartment, eventually leading to the bedroom. A bed was already set up inside.

“I wanna fuck you.” he grasped her hips, grinding his hips into hers. “Take off your clothes, now.”

“Sasuke, I can’t. I’m on my period.” she said, and pulled away from him.

“Get on your knees then,” he demanded immediately. She hesitated then slowly knelt in front of him. He waited for her to get the hint and undo his pants. “Must I do everything?” he huffed, and unzipped his pants and pulled his cock out. Sasuke roughly grabbed the back of her head; he pushed her mouth onto his cock.

Sakura grabbed his member with her hand to keep herself from gagging.

“Fucking dumb slut,” he groaned, thrusting harder into her mouth. “I need to train you better. You’re terrible at this.”

Tears came to her eyes. She didn’t want to disappoint him. She sucked him harder, and stroked him with her hand. Sakura kept going and just hoped it would be over soon. Sasuke came in her mouth and she swallowed it. She stood up while wiping her mouth with her hand.

“At least I didn’t have to tell you to swallow it, you at least know that much.” Sasuke said. Sakura frowned and looked at her feet. “Hey, look at me. Why are you crying?”

“I just feel bad for disappointing you.” she wiped her eyes. Sasuke slapped her across the face.

“Stop crying, you fucking stupid slut. It’s your fault that you don’t know how to suck dick,” he said angrily. “Stop crying.”

He hit her again, causing her to stumble back and fall to the ground.

“I’m sorry.” she wiped her eyes and attempted to regulate her breathing. “I love you.” she said as she stood up.

“Baby come here.” Sasuke murmured. She flinched as he held out his hand. When she looked up at his face, his eyes were kind. She reached for his hand and he pulled her into his arms. “I love you too baby girl. I’m sorry for being tough on you.”

“No, no I’m sorry! I know you do it cause you love me.” she replied quickly. Sasuke smiled and kissed her.

“I do love you. And once you’re able, I’m going to bang you so hard.” he murmured. Sakura blushed and giggled.

“Can’t wait.”

“Come on, let’s go get some dinner.” he kissed her head again and led her out of the bedroom.

* * *

Over the following week, Sakura helped her boyfriend pack up his room and move into his new apartment. She passed by Itachi on her way to grab more boxes.

“What’s that, Sakura?” he stopped her.

“Hm, what do you mean?” she smiled sweetly. He touched her face gently.

“Your face, you have a bruise.” he remarked.

“Oh? I didn’t realize. It’s probably from moving boxes. I bruise easily.” she replied reassuringly. She cringed internally; Sasuke was starting to leave marks when he hit her. She didn’t want anyone to know that he was hitting her. She knew that she would have to leave him, and she didn’t want to. Sakura loved him.

“Be careful with those boxes.” Itachi’s tone made it seem like he knew what Sasuke was doing.

“I will. Sometimes these things just happen.”

“Well, if you need my help…just…let me know.” he replied.

“Okay.” she smiled.

* * *

Sasuke told Sakura that he’d be busy for a few nights. She was a little upset to have to be away from him, but she agreed. She hadn’t talked to Ino in a while. She text her to see if she could go over.

**_Sorry Sakura, I’m busy._ **

_Asuma again?_

**_Yeah._ **

_How did he take to the news, about the baby?_

**_I didn’t tell him. I just got rid of it._ **

_What? Why didn’t you tell me!?_

**_I’ve been kind of busy Sakura. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later. Asuma is going to be here soon._ **

_Oh, alright. Well let me know when you are free._

Once again Sakura was on her own. No boyfriend, no friend to hang out with. She went home and cleaned, then left to get some groceries. While she was out, she saw Asuma walking into the same store. She paused.

“Mr. Sarutobi!” she called. Asuma turned around, hearing his name. He saw Sakura running toward him.

“Oh, hi Sakura.”

“I have to ask you something,” she said. When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “Are you going to Ino’s?”

“Ino? No, why would I?” he asked, looking at her confused.

“She said…I’m sorry. She said she’s been spending time with you.” Sakura frowned.

“No, she hasn’t. Seems like your friend has been lying to you.” Asuma replied.

“I guess that is a relief in a way…”

“How so?”

“She said that she was pregnant, and that you were the father.” Sakura said.

“I’ve never slept with her. She was my student!” Asuma replied, incredulous.

“I didn’t think so…but she was kind of known for sleeping with teachers.”

“Well, if she is pregnant, it’s not mine.”

Sakura stared at the man. She apologized for bothering him and thanked him for his time. Then she finished up her shopping and went home. If Asuma wasn’t the father of her baby, then who did Ino sleep with? Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that it was her boyfriend. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Sasuke wouldn’t do that to her.


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura was delighted when Sasuke text her to be at the apartment, as he would be home that night. She made dinner for them and waited for Sasuke to get in. He was pleased to see her when he walked in the door. They ate, and Sasuke almost immediately wanted to head to the bedroom.

“Clean up the dishes. I’m going to take a shower. You better be naked in bed by the time I get out.” he growled in her ear.

Sakura nodded in agreement and went to do the dishes. Once she was done, she went to the bedroom and stripped off.  She massaged some lotion onto herself so she’d smell good. Sasuke came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

“I missed you, Sasuke.” Sakura murmured as he climbed into bed. His skin was still warmed and slightly damp from his shower. He smelled like soap, and Sakura found herself wanting to taste his skin.

“I missed you too.” he replied monotonously. She kissed his neck, his cheek, his lips, and her hands roamed his chest and hips.

“Sasuke, I love you,” she said. “I love you so much. Please don’t leave me.”

Sasuke stopped her. His eyes bore into hers.

“What do you mean?”

“I just want you to know that I love you, and I don’t want you to get bored and leave me,” she paused, “You’d never cheat on me, right?” she asked tentatively.

“Why would you ask me that?” Sasuke sat up. “How dare you assume I’d do that.”

She flinched as his hand came close to her. The slap she was expecting did not come. His hand closed around her throat.

“You whore.” he spat. She shook her head and tried to get away from him.

“No, no! I didn’t think you would cheat on me…please stop.” she gasped. He slapped her across the face.

“You’re a stupid, ugly slut. You deserve to be cheated on. You can’t even pleasure me correctly. You defective whore.”

Sakura weakly struggled against him as she cried. He punched her again, in the nose, and made it bleed. She started to cough and gag as blood flowed down her throat. Seeing her struggle, Sasuke climbed off her. He left to get a washcloth and came back. He carefully sat her up, and covered her nose and mouth with the wet washcloth. Sasuke helped her up to the bathroom so she could spit the blood into the sink.

After getting her cleaned up, he got her dressed and carried her to the couch.

“I’m sorry.” her throat was scratchy from the blood.

“Shh, it’s okay baby girl. I’m sorry I hurt you. You shouldn’t provoke me like that. You know I love you.” he replied, kissing her head. She cuddled into his side.

“I’m sorry I’m insecure. I want to make you happy.” she started to cry again, and sobbed into his arms.

“You do make me happy love.” he replied.

They cuddled on the couch for a while and watched a movie. Sakura fell asleep against Sasuke, who had one arm wrapped around her. She awoke to Sasuke talking on the phone.

“I left it there? Okay, I’m sorry. She’s asleep right now, I can come and get it now.” he spoke quietly. “I didn’t know that. I’ll be right over.”

Sakura opened her eyes when Sasuke stood up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. 

“Where are you going babe?” she asked.

“I left my wallet at a friend’s house. I’ll be right back.” he said. He grabbed a jacket and put on his shoes, then left without a further word.

Sakura went to the bathroom and looked at her face. She had shadows under her eyes already forming from the punches. She couldn’t tell if it was the lights, but she looked paler. Tired, even. Unexpectedly, she started to cry.

Her dream of being Sasuke’s girlfriend had turned into a nightmare. He wasn’t nice to her, and she could admit that. Yet he said he loved her. She could change, she decided. If she changed then he would have no reason to hit her. As much as it messed her up, she really loved him. He was handsome and wanted her. Who was she to reject him?


	11. Chapter 11

Sasuke arrived at the apartment in 20 minutes. He knocked, and a minute later the door opened. The thin figure in the doorway thrust his wallet out to him.

“Oh, come on now,” he smirked. “I’m here, so can I come in?”

“I’m still sore from yesterday. Besides, I can’t lie to Sakura anymore.” Ino replied, she glared at Sasuke, and crossed her arms.

“You’re just mad I won’t leave Sakura for you.” he replied coolly.

“No! I’m mad that you got me pregnant and then asked my best friend out, and made me lie to her!” she yelled. They stared at each other for a minute. 

“Well, thanks for giving my wallet back.” Sasuke smiled. He nodded at her then started to leave, but Ino stopped him.

“Quickly…okay? You have fifteen minutes.” she sighed.

“That’s what I thought.” he turned and wolf-grinned at her.

* * *

 

Sakura was in bed when Sasuke arrived home. She had cried herself to sleep. He stripped off to his boxers then climbed into bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.

“Sasuke…” she mumbled, turning her head to look at him. He kissed her neck again.

“Hey baby girl.” he murmured.

“I’m glad you’re back.” she rolled over in his arms and buried her face in his neck. She breathed in his scent. He still smelled like soap from his shower earlier, but there was something…else. Perfume. Sakura sat up and turned on the light.

“Where were you?” she looked down at Sasuke’s neck. He had a few marks on his neck. They looked like hickeys. “Sasuke, were you just with another girl? Tell me the truth. You have hickeys on your neck. You smell like perfume.” Sakura’s voice shook. The perfume smelled familiar, but she couldn’t immediately place where she had smelled it before.

“Okay, yeah. I was with another girl. So what?” Sasuke said nonchalant.

Sakura started to cry. The tears fell freely down her cheeks. Sasuke just sat quietly, emotionless. She wanted to scream at him for cheating on her. She wanted to find out who it was and beat the shit out of her. She wanted to beat the shit out of Sasuke for being a lying, cheating, manipulative asshole. Then she remembered what Sasuke was like when he was mad. He made her nose bleed, and he left her bruised. If she said something against him, he would beat her worse, and maybe break her nose this time.

“I hope you had fun.” she smiled weakly, and turned away from him. She turned the light back out and laid down.

“You don’t mind? You’re not mad?” he teased.

“If that’s what makes you happy, then I don’t mind. No, I’m not mad.” she replied. He cuddled up behind her.

“You’re still crying. Are you sure you’re not mad?”

“I’m just upset that I’m not enough for you.” she couldn’t help the sob that escaped her lips.

“It was just a couple times. She’s just a dumb slut. You’re mine, baby girl. I love you.” Sasuke kissed her shoulder between sentences.

_“The blonde Yamanaka slut?”_

Sakura was suddenly able to place the scent of the perfume.


	12. Chapter 12

The pieces fell into place for Sakura. Ino hadn’t slept with Asuma. She had slept with Sasuke. Ino had gotten pregnant by Sasuke. Ino had betrayed her. Sakura felt like her whole world was falling apart. Her boyfriend, the man she had been crushing on forever, had cheated on her. Her best friend was the one he cheated on her with, and she had gotten pregnant by him. Sakura felt nauseous.

The next day she took a shower and got ready. The bruises around her nose and under her eyes had darkened to a very ugly purple. She covered them up with makeup.

Sasuke was already gone when she was ready. She was free to leave. She headed over to Ino’s. A million emotions swirled through her. She wanted to yell at her, call her a whore, and punch her in the face for sleeping with her boyfriend. She also wanted to warn her about how abusive he is. Was he abusive? Sakura ran it through her head. According to Sasuke, everything he had done to her was because she had provoked him. And if he was abusive, why hadn’t she left him yet?

She continued to mull it over. She arrived at Ino’s and banged on the door.

The blonde opened the door, not expecting to see her angry best friend.

“Oh, Sakura. Hi.” The blonde replied sheepishly. She knew exactly why Sakura was standing there with her arms crossed and glaring daggers towards her.

“Would you care to explain?” Sakura asked.

“Please, come in. I can explain.” Ino replied softly. Sakura pushed her way inside. She looked around and cut Ino’s sentence off.

“I should beat your fucking ass, you slut. You _lied_ to me.” Sakura said.

“I’m so sorry, Sakura. I didn’t want this.”

“What? Are you saying he forced you?”

“No. I mean, I didn’t know that he would ask you out. We had been sleeping together, and when he told me he asked you out, he told me to not tell you. He said that he wanted to date you.” her lip quivered and Sakura’s anger subsided. Ino had been played by Sasuke as well. She even had to have an abortion because of him.

“Why did you tell me that the baby was Asuma’s?” Sakura asked.

“I don’t know… I guess I thought if you thought it was one of the teachers’ you wouldn’t suspect Sasuke of being the father.” Ino replied. She looked at her friend, and gasped. “Sakura! Your face!”

Ino stepped forward and examined her eyes and nose.

“What is that? Is Sasuke hitting you?” Ino asked. Sakura glanced away, feeling guilty. Apparently, she hadn’t covered it as well as she thought. “Sakura!”

“It was an accident.” she mumbled. Ino ‘tsk’-ed.

“Him beating you is an accident? Your face is purple!”

“Ino, just leave it alone. Please. Sasuke makes me happy-” she started.

“When he’s not beating you.” Ino interjected.

“He doesn’t ‘beat’ me. He just gets rough sometimes.” Sakura shrugged.

“I know rough. It looks like he broke your nose.”

Sakura explained that she was fine. That he wouldn’t do it again. Ino seemed unconvinced. The pinkette told her that she could handle it. Ino told her that she would help her if she needed help. That if he did it again, Ino would go to the police. Sakura thanked her for her support, but she promised she was okay. They sat and chatted for a while before Sakura had to get home. When she left, Ino felt that Sakura just didn’t want to admit that Sasuke wasn’t such a dream guy after all. The blonde contemplated telling the police what was going on anyway. Sakura wouldn’t leave him until he did something she couldn’t recover from.

* * *

Sakura returned home with lunch to find Naruto sitting on the couch with Sasuke.

“Hey babe.”

“Oh hey. Hi, Naruto! I didn’t know you’d be here, otherwise I would have bought more food. You can have some of mine if you want. I’m not that hungry.” she smiled at them. She went to the kitchen to set the food down. The boys followed her. They each got a plate of food and returned to the couch. After they ate, Naruto brought their plates in where Sakura was doing the dishes. She thanked him.

“Hey, um, are you okay? You look like you got punched in the face.” he said quietly.

“Oh no! I accidentally hit myself in the face. I’m fine.” she reassured him.

“Are you sure? That looks really bad.”

Sakura looked into his concerned blue eyes. He was frowning. She smiled at him.

“I am fine.” she repeated.

“Okay, if there’s anything I can do, you know. Let me know.” he shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Thank you, Naruto.”

Sasuke was leaning against the wall of the kitchen. Neither Naruto or Sakura had noticed he was there.

“Hey, babe. Want to get even?” Sasuke asked in a low, mocking sort of tone.

“Oh! Wh-what do you mean Sasuke?” she asked. Sasuke walked up to them and clapped a hand on Naruto’s shoulder.

“I fucked your best friend. Why don’t you fuck mine?”

Both Sakura and Naruto turned red when they looked at each other.

“No, Sasuke. I don’t really want to do that.” she blushed.

“Yeah, I’m not comfortable either.” the blonde male agreed.

“Oh, come on now. I insist,” Sasuke urged. When neither of them said anything, he added. “Naruto, I want to watch you fuck my girlfriend.”

Naruto blinked and looked to Sakura who was now looking at the floor. She set the towel she had been holding on the counter and reached for Naruto and Sasuke’s hands.

“Okay.” she replied weakly. It didn’t matter that she didn’t want to do this. Sasuke wanted her to do it. The only way she’d get out of it were to be if Naruto were to leave. And she didn’t want to know what the outcome would be if that were to happen.

Naruto watched her. She was outwardly willing, but he could tell she really didn’t want to do it.

“Sasuke, I don’t want to.” he said.

“You fucking liar. We were just talking about how you wanted to fuck Sakura. She’s giving you the chance. Sakura, tell him how much you want him.” Sasuke retorted. Sakura squeezed his hand and released Sasuke’s, so she could turn her attention on Naruto. She pulled him into a kiss.

“Please fuck me. I want you to fuck me.” she whispered. She ran her hand up his t-shirt, feeling up his chest. She stood on her toes to kiss him again. “Please, fuck me.” she murmured.

Sasuke grabbed her arm and started to drag her toward the bedroom. Sakura held Naruto by his shirt so he would follow them.

“Get your clothes off.” Sasuke demanded of her as soon as they were in the bedroom. He told Naruto to sit on the bed. Sakura stripped off her clothing and watched Naruto’s eyes graze over her body. “Get on your knees Sakura.” he told her. Sakura slid on her knees in front of Naruto and gingerly reached for his pants. She pulled his cock from his pants. “Don’t tease him baby girl. Put your mouth on it.” Sasuke ordered.

Sakura slid her mouth over Naruto’s hardened member. The blonde hissed at the sensation. She continued to suck him. Sasuke watched them with a smirk on his face.

“Sakura, get on the bed.” Sasuke said. Sakura stood and climbed on the bed, and Sasuke positioned her face down. Her boyfriend tossed his friend a condom. Naruto put it on and got into position behind Sakura. He slid his sizable length into her.

“Oh god!” she moaned. He thrust into her hard.

“How’s that feel Sakura?” Sasuke asked.

“Oh god, it feels so good. Ah, Naruto!” she clutched the sheets tightly. Sasuke instructed Naruto to slam into her harder. The blonde grasped her hips and thrust into her harder. Sakura cried out. She felt her legs start to shake. Sasuke was grinning down at her, and Naruto was a little concerned with his friend’s behavior.

“Ah, fuck,” Naruto groaned as he came. He pulled out and Sakura rolled on her side. “Are you okay, Sakura?” he asked.

“She’s fine.” Sasuke answered for her.

“She looks upset.” Naruto put his hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her.

“Leave her alone. She’s fine.” Sasuke replied. Naruto was unconvinced. He laid down and cuddled with her.

“Thank you, Sakura.” he murmured, and kissed her forehead. She didn’t move or acknowledge him. She was waiting for Sasuke to yell at her, to beat her, to fight Naruto. “I’m sorry.” he whispered in her ear.

“Naruto, are you done? I’d like to cuddle with my girlfriend.” he emphasized the word “my.” Sakura climbed over to him and cuddled in his arms, hiding her face in his shoulder. Naruto frowned and got up to get dressed.

“Thanks I guess. See you later Sasuke.” He shook his head. He couldn’t believe how much of a jerk Sasuke really was. Something told Naruto that he should keep an eye on the pinkette. The way she moved, the way she moaned, the way she curled up in his arms in an instant was so robotic and hollow.

When Naruto left, he was still worried about Sakura.


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura was quiet for the next couple of days which suited Sasuke just fine. She went through her days mechanically. Sasuke went and hung out with friends, went to the movies without her, and went to lunch a couple of times. Sakura thought that he was with another girl, because he didn’t take her, and Sasuke wasn’t the type to just go out alone.

Sasuke had just left to go to a late lunch. He teased the fact that it was more of a date. Sakura told him to have fun. She was folding laundry on the couch when she heard a knock at the door. She put down the towel and got up to answer the door. It was Sasuke’s dad, Fugaku.

“Hello, Sasuke’s not home.” her voice was scratchy and weak from disuse.

“I’m here to talk to you.” Fugaku replied. She gestured for him to come inside.

“What can I help you with? Would you like some tea?” she asked. He stopped her.

“I’ve received several reports of possible abuse. Since it concerns my son, I thought I’d come here personally.” he said.

“I’m fine.” she answered a little too quickly.

“What’s that?” he pointed to the fading bruises under her eyes.

“I fell out of bed on my face. It was an accident.” Even Sakura could tell that she was not convincing. “Whoever reported that must be misreading the situation.”

“Sakura, I don’t want to think that my son would do something like this, but people are concerned and it’s my job to look into it. Please, tell me the truth.” he pressed.

Sakura looked at the floor. She knew exactly who reported it. Several reports? Ino and Naruto for sure, and possibly Itachi. What was she going to do? He hasn’t hurt her for a while. Maybe he was over it. What good would it do for her to tell him?

“Sasuke is not hurting me.” she said firmly. She looked into his eyes and hoped he believed her. His posture softened as he looked at her. He didn’t fully believe her, but it was their word against hers and with no witnesses, Fugaku couldn’t do anything.

“Okay. Fine. Sorry to bother you.” he headed for the door. “Sakura, if he ever hits you, come straight to me, okay?”

“Okay.” she nodded, knowing that it was an empty promise.

* * *

When Sasuke found out that his dad came by, he was furious. Sakura was scared, but knew that he wouldn’t hit her once he knew why his dad was over.

“Why does he think I hit you!? What did you tell him?” he demanded.

“I said that I fell off the bed. It was my fault.” Sakura truly believed the words that came out of her mouth. It was her fault.

“Don’t ever talk to my parents without me being there.” he ordered. She agreed.

“I’m so sorry, Sasuke.” she said.

“I hate you. You’re a fucking stupid slut.” he spat, walking to the kitchen for a drink.

Sakura sat on the couch quietly. She was trying hard not to cry, otherwise she’d just annoy him more. He pushed her aside when he came back to the living room.

“Do you want me to leave?” she asked shakily. He gestured for her to snuggle with him. Sakura laid her head on his shoulder, the rest of her body was leaning away from him. She was shaking.

“I love you.” he kissed her head. “Baby, why are you shaking? Here.” Sasuke pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered her up.

His phone started ringing. Sasuke looked at the caller ID, then answered.

“What? I’m kind of with my girlfriend right now.” he listened to the person on the other line. “Yeah, my girlfriend. She’s sick, so I’m staying here. Sorry.”

Sakura didn’t even bother to ask who it was. He probably would get mad. He tossed his phone on the table in front of him. The clatter it made when it hit made Sakura jump.

“Aw, did that scare you?” he chuckled. He reached for the remote and stretched out on the couch, letting Sakura lay across his body. He turned on the TV and switched it to a movie channel. Sakura laid completely still, and waited for him to tell her to go away.

He didn’t. He shifted the blanket so it better covered both of them, then flipped through the channels when he realized the movie was dumb.

“Baby, you like this show, right?” he asked, stopping on a cooking show. Sakura turned her head to watch.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. We don’t have to watch it.” she whispered. Sasuke ignored her and left it on.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a while. She nodded. She couldn’t be anything less than okay. He nuzzled her head, and attempted to make her smile. “You’re so cute. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“You sounded unsure about that.”

“No! No, I’m not. I just-” she stopped herself from speaking her mind. It was her fault.

“What is it, love?”

“I don’t like it when you call me a stupid slut, or say that you hate me.” she tried hard not to cry. Sakura didn’t look at his face, terrified of what was to come next.

“You know I love you.” he murmured.

“Then why do you call me names?” she asked. “I don’t like that.”

“I’m sorry, but sometimes you make me mad. I don’t mean to yell at you. We should both try to do better.” he said. He kissed her hard.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” she replied.

Sasuke rubbed her back and squeezed her butt.

“Let’s go on a date. We haven’t done that in a long time.”

“Okay.”

“What would you want to do, baby girl?” he asked.

“Whatever you want to do.” she answered.

“Come on! Humor me.”

She thought about it. She didn’t really want to do anything, but Sasuke was being nice. She couldn’t come up with anything because Sasuke had been out to lunch and dinner many times, and he had seen all the new movies. Sakura knew he didn’t want to do the same old thing.

“I don’t know.”

“We’ll come up with something then.” he said with a smile.

She wondered why he was suddenly so affectionate. He kissed her cheeks and nibbled at her lips, meanwhile he squeezed her against him. It was as if he didn’t want her to leave him.  She clutched his shirt and hoped it would last.

* * *

Sakura didn’t know when she had fallen asleep. She woke up in bed, with her boyfriend’s arms wrapped tightly around her. She remembered the events of last night and smiled. Sasuke seemed to be turning around.

“Baby, are you awake?” he murmured in her ear.

“Yeah…”

“Can you make breakfast? I want pancakes.” Sasuke said. Sakura sighed internally. That didn’t last long.

“Okay.” she answered. Sakura sat up and grabbed her robe. After putting on her slippers, she tied up her hair and went to the kitchen.

She brought the pancakes to him when they were done, as he had made no move to get out of bed.

“Ah, breakfast in bed. It’d be even better if I didn’t need to prompt you.” he grinned, sitting up. He looked down at the stack of pancakes and frowned.

“What did I do wrong?”

“There’s no chocolate chips.”

“I’m sorry. We don’t have any-”

“God, you don’t do anything right. I don’t want them.” he said taking the plate and flipping it onto her lap. The syrup and butter soaked into her robe.

“I’m sorry.”

“What the fuck ever, dumb bitch. You never listen. I’m going back to bed. Clean this shit up.” he rolled over and left her to clean up.

Sakura washed her robe and took a shower. When she got out Sasuke was up. He grabbed her ass when she quickly walked by him to get clothes. She didn’t want to disturb him again when she went to shower so she had only grabbed a towel.

“Hey, come back here.” he said. He reached for the towel and yanked it off her.

“Sasuke please…” she turned to him. His arm snaked around her waist, and pulled her close.

“What? What do you want baby?” he teased, and kissed her neck. She pushed him away.

“I want to go get dressed.”

She turned away from him and he grabbed her arm. She pulled away from him, hard, and fell against the wall. Her head bounced off it as she fell.

“Look what you did now.” he laughed. He continued to laugh as Sakura stood up and continued walking to the bedroom to get dressed.

Angry tears pricked her eyes and she decided that she was done with him. She was done with him hitting her, degrading her, and the turning around and acting like everything was fine. That was it.

Sakura decided that she was going to leave him that night.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave some kudos and comments so I know people like this story. I've been working really hard on it.

Sasuke left to go “hang out with some friends” aka he had a date with some girl. He said that he wasn’t going to be home for a while. Sakura acted sad, and almost convinced herself into asking him to stay. He left and she began packing her things. She didn’t have many things of her own at his apartment. It was mostly clothes and her toiletries. It took less than an hour to fit everything into a couple of large bags.

Sakura turned off the lights and left her key on the coffee table. After double checking that she had everything of hers, she gathered her bags and headed out to her parents’ house.

They were shocked to see her. She hadn’t called them first.

“Sakura! What are you doing here?” her mother asked.

“I want to come home, mom. I left Sasuke.” she started crying. Her dad grabbed her bags from her.

“What happened?” her mother lead her inside.

She told her parents the whole story, leaving out a few parts, but they got the general idea that Sasuke had been abusing her.

“Where is he now? What did he say?”

“He was gone when I left. He’s been seeing other girls. I didn’t tell him.” Sakura said.

“We’re glad you left, Sakura.”

“I can’t believe you stayed there for that long.” her father added.

“It was hard to leave, dad. I was in love with him.”

Her parents let her go up to her old room and unpack her clothes. Her room was the same as she had left it almost two months ago. Sakura felt as though a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It was almost like she could finally breathe again. She was elated as she put away her clothes and dusted off her desk and dresser.

Sakura text Ino.

_I left Sasuke._

**_Oh my god! Are you okay?? What happened??_ **

_I’m fine. He left and so I packed up my things and left. I’m home now. It’s fine._

**_I’m glad there was no confrontation. How do you think he will take it?_ **

_Probably not well, but I’m away from him and I’m done._

**_That’s good! We should meet up soon. Anyway, keep me updated. I’m with someone right now (No, not him) so I’ll talk to you later._ **

_Okay, mom is saying it is time for dinner anyway. See you later._

* * *

 

Sakura put her phone in her pocket and went downstairs to eat with her parents.

Halfway through dinner there was a knock at the door. Sakura excused herself and went to answer it. Sasuke was standing on the porch.

“What the hell, Sakura? Why is your stuff not at the apartment?” he asked. A jolt went through her of both surprise and fear.

“Sasuke, please. I don’t want to do this anymore.” she said quietly.

“Come home. Now!” he demanded.

“No. You’re abusive and I’m done feeling like everything is my fault.”

“It’s not! I know we have problems, but baby girl,” his voice cracked as he started to cry. “Baby girl, I love you. Come home.”

He reached for her. She felt bad. He looked really distraught. Sakura’s parents heard the commotion and went to see what it was about. Upon seeing Sasuke, her mother pulled her back.

“Leave.” her father said.

“No! Sakura, baby please…come home.”

“We know what you’ve been doing to our daughter. We’re asking you to leave before we call the police.”

“I don’t care! My father is the head of the police unit!” Sasuke replied.

“Sasuke, go home.” Sakura said softly.

“Not unless you come home with me.” he shook his head.

“I’ll come see you tomorrow. I promise. Go home, get some sleep.” she replied. He reached for her again and she moved toward him. Her mother grabbed her wrist and tried to stop her. “He won’t hurt me with you standing here.” she assured them.

Sakura stepped in front of Sasuke, and he wrapped his arms around her tight. He sobbed into her shoulder, continuing to ask her to come home.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. We need a break, okay? I’ll be home tomorrow.” she murmured to him while rubbing his back.

“I love you, please come home.” he cried. She kissed him.

“I will. Not tonight though.” she answered firmly. He started to understand, and released her.

In the time it took Sakura to calm him down, her father had called the police. A car pulled up behind them and out came Sasuke’s dad.

“Sasuke, get in the car.” Fugaku commanded. Sasuke held onto Sakura.

“Dad, I just want Sakura to come home with me. I’m not doing anything.” he whined.

“You’re not in trouble Sasuke. It’ll be okay.” Sakura assured him. She walked down the steps of the porch to the vehicle. Sasuke continued to protest. She kissed him, and assured him that she would see him tomorrow. He got in the car willingly, but continued to cry.

“Sakura, when I came over and asked you if Sasuke had been hurting you, you lied to me didn’t you?” Fugaku asked.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want anything bad to happen to Sasuke, which was dumb of me. But I do care about him.” Sakura replied, ashamed.

“Has he been moody lately and then suddenly he’ll be fine?” Fugaku asked. She nodded.

“He’d call me names, and say he hates me, and then he’d be back to saying he loves me.” she recalled.

“Yeah, about that, Sasuke is supposed to take medicine for that behavior, but hasn’t for some time.” Fugaku replied.

“I never knew that.”

“My guess is he didn’t want you to. His mother found his pills in the bathroom. That’s why he has gotten worse as of late. I have to take him to the psych ward. Come to the station tomorrow and I’ll get a report.” he said. Sakura nodded. He said goodnight and then headed back to the car.

“Wait! Can I tell him something?” she stopped him.

“Quickly.”

Sakura opened the door where Sasuke was sitting. He was lying back against the seat, now silent.

“Sasuke, I understand why you did what you did. You were embarrassed to be on medication, but I’d rather you be healthy than try to impress me. It doesn’t excuse what you did to me or Ino, but I just wanted to say that I forgive you.” Sakura kissed his cheek. “Please, get better.”

He smiled weakly at her. She shut the door, then watched as Fugaku drove off. She walked inside with her parents. A lot of emotions were swirling around her head. She didn’t know how to feel.

* * *

The following day she went to the station to meet with Fugaku. She told the entire story, blushing over the sexual parts, and told him he should talk to Ino as well. Fugaku thanked her and told her she was free to go.

“Sir, where is Sasuke?”

“Psych ward. He’s going to be there for a while, while he adjusts to his medication,” Fugaku replied. Seeing her face, he added, “You can visit him in a week or two. I’ll keep into contact with you and let you know.”

She thanked him again and left the office. She text Ino and told her what was up. Ino was shocked to find out that Sasuke was supposed to be taking medication. She agreed to talk with Sasuke’s father. Things were starting to get better.

Sakura never stopped thinking about Sasuke, even when she started college in the Fall. In a way, she was grateful to him. He was her first in so many aspects and, even though she wouldn’t want to relive the beatings, she really did love him. The last she heard, Sasuke did not take to his new medication that well, so he had to stay in the ward longer than was expected. He was now in therapy to work through his issues, and he was on an even newer medication.

Sakura made a date to go and visit him on her first weekend off. She was excited and nervous to see him again.


	15. Chapter 15

Sakura was eventually able to visit Sasuke the second week of October. She hadn’t seen him in almost two months. She signed in at the front desk and was brought by an attendant to the recreational room. There were other patients there. They sat at tables and painted with their fingers, or sat in a group on the floor as they watched a movie.

The attendant pointed to the corner.

“There he is.” she said. Sakura thanked her, but she continued to stand there. Security purposes, Sakura was told. She nodded and walked over to Sasuke. He was intently writing at a table. There were a few pages piled up in front of him. Part of his therapy as Sakura was told. He showed great interest in writing, so that’s what he did all day.

“Sasuke?” she spoke gently. He looked up and then turned his head.

“Sakura, it’s really you!” he stood up and hugged her tight. She pulled away and sat down in front of him. “It’s so great to see you again.”

His tone had changed. The way he spoke and carried himself was not radically different, just…off. Sakura had been warned that his medication would make him seem a little different.

“It’s great to see you too, Sasuke,” she smiled. “What are you writing there?” she pointed to the papers in front of him.

“Oh! These are for you. Cause I miss you.” he handed her a few of the pages.

She flipped through them and realized they weren’t just stories, they were poems. Each one was about Sakura. Some were love poems, and some were how he felt about hurting her. A few were how he felt about himself for hurting her. Needless to say, that one wasn’t very happy.

“These are great, Sasuke.” she smiled at him, handing the pages back. He took them and flipped through them. He took one of the pages, signed it, and handed it to her.

“Take this one. Please. I don’t want you to forget how I feel about you.” he urged. She took the paper and folded it gently. She didn’t have her purse on her, so she had to hold onto it. Before she could say anything, he continued, “I didn’t want to hurt you. Really I didn’t. I just couldn’t stop myself. I sort of knew I needed help, but I guess I was so messed up I thought being an abusive jerk was better than being someone who needs medication to function properly. If I could go back I would just continue to take my meds. I’m good when I’m on them. I’m just sorry you had to suffer because of my poor choice.”

“Sasuke, I forgave you. I loved you, and I wouldn’t have judged you for needing medication. I cared about you, and I still do, but that blinded me. It made me feel like it was my fault. In a way, I guess it was.”

“No. It wasn’t. Sakura, do you still love me?”

“Of course I do Sasuke. I had a crush on you even before you asked me out.” she mused.

“Oh, I know that,” he smirked, seeming very much like his old self. “Do you still want to be with me?”

Sakura sat back. Her first reaction was to say yes. Of course she wanted to be with him. She knew he wasn’t entirely a bad person. He was just someone who made bad choices.

“It’s complicated, Sasuke. I love you, and I do want to be with you,” he perked up at her answer and she held up her hand to indicate she was still talking, “But, you have to understand that you hurt me and so I’m hesitant about it.”

“I know. I want to try again. You know, once I get out of here.” he smiled.

“We’ll see what happens.” she cautioned.

“You’ll come and visit me again right? We should still be friends even if you don’t want to be with me.” he said.  She reached over and took one of his hands in hers.

“Of course, Sasuke.” Sakura smiled at him.

The rest of the time they talked about Sakura’s college, how her parents and friends were, and he told her to tell Naruto that he was sorry for being an asshole. She agreed. When it was time for her to leave, they stood up and hugged again. Sakura was still clutching the poem he had given her. Sasuke told her to visit again soon. She promised that she would as soon as she could. He seemed hesitant to let her go.

“Sasuke?” she asked, worried. The attendant started to walk over.

“I don’t want you to leave me again. You’re the first girl who ever loved me for me. Not because of my name, or my money, or my looks. I was horrible to you and you stayed.” he teared up.

“I won’t leave you. I’ll visit when I can. Right now, you need to get better and get out of here, okay?” she smiled. “Promise me you’ll get better.”

“I’ll do my best. For you.” he smiled. She hugged him again.

“Time to go.” The attendant motioned for Sakura to leave.

“Wait, just one moment!” Sakura grabbed one of Sasuke’s papers and scribbled a note. She kissed it, and handed it to him. “Okay. See you later Sasuke.”

He watched her leave. Once she was out of view, he looked down at the note.

_Sasuke, I’ll see you soon. Remember that I love you. Take care of yourself, for us. Love, Sakura._

He touched the faint mark of her lipstick and smiled. He would try as hard as he could to get better.


	16. Chapter 16

Sakura visited Sasuke the following weekend, and every weekend after that. She’d go and spend an hour or so with him. She visited so often that the attendant didn’t need to stick around to supervise after a while. Sasuke was delighted every time she visited and showed her his new poems. He told her about his therapy sessions and about the progress he had made. He seemed confident that he’d be able to leave soon. Sakura told him that she was proud of him. She told him of her studies, and he listened intently.

One day after a visit, Sasuke made a bold move and kissed her. Sakura wasn’t sure if he was allowed to do that, so she froze. He felt her tense, and pulled away grinning sheepishly.

“Sorry, I miss kissing you.” he said quietly.

“That’s okay. I’ll see you soon.”

“It’ll be an eternity, love.” he smiled. Sakura smiled back and started to walk away. “Wait, you have something for me?”

“Oh! I almost forgot. Here.” she pulled a paper from her pocket and handed it to him. She kissed his cheek and left.

It had been their routine since Sakura had begun to visit him. He would give her a poem, usually a sappy love poem, and she would give him a motivational note. She would put on lipstick and kiss the page as well. Sasuke was happy to have the newest note that was sealed with her kiss.

_Sasuke, you’re making progress and getting closer to be able to leave. It’ll be great once you’re out. I’ll see you soon. I love you. Love, Sakura._

* * *

A month later, Sakura was invited over to the Uchiha’s home for dinner. She gladly accepted. She got ready and arrived at 6. Itachi let her in and gave her a hug. He admired her ability to accept Sasuke even after what he had done.

“You look lovely.” he remarked. She thanked him.

“How are you, Itachi?”

He said he was fine and that he had been working very hard recently as they walked to the dining room. Fugaku stood up when Sakura entered the room and she went to hug him. Then she went to hug Mikoto. They sat down to eat. This time Sakura was sitting next to Itachi, where Sasuke had sat their first dinner together.

“This just doesn’t seem right. Not having Sasuke here.” Fugaku said.

“Yeah, I agree. Hey, Sasuke!” Itachi called behind him. Sakura whipped around to find Sasuke walking toward her wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He looked like he had just woken up from a nap as his hair was messy. She nearly screamed in excitement and leapt out of her chair to hug him.

“You’re home! When did you get out?” she asked, astonished that he was really here. She wouldn’t have to go and visit him. She could spend longer amounts of time with him.

“This morning. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“It was my fault, Sakura, I wanted to surprise you.” Fugaku laughed behind them.

Sakura hugged Sasuke tight. She was so happy to see him.

“I’m so glad you’re home.” she sighed happily.

“Sit down and eat, Sasuke.” his mother said. Sasuke kissed Sakura’s head, and they sat down to eat. He sat across from Sakura, and his mother served him. He thanked her and they continued the meal.

Sakura insisted she help clean up after dinner. Mikoto thanked her for her help and Sasuke dragged Sakura to the living room. He explained that they weren’t allowed to be alone yet.

“I feel like I’m thirteen or something, but I understand why.” Sasuke grinned. They sat on the couch. Sakura tentatively cuddled into his side.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” she turned her head to stare at him. He looked different, softer somehow. Something Sakura had always admired about Sasuke were his strong features. They were perfect, angular, and made him so handsome. But he hardly ever smiled genuinely, and he looked intimidating. His features seemed different now.

“Are you glad?”

“Of course I am!” she said.

“I am too.”

“What happened to your apartment?” Sakura asked as soon as the thought had occurred to her.

“Itachi is staying there for a while so it isn’t abandoned while I’m getting better. I get it back in a month as long as I stay on my meds, continue therapy, and make progress.”

“That’s great.” she reached for his hand and interlaced their fingers.

They chatted for a while until it was time for Sakura to leave. Sasuke hugged her tight, and kissed her.

“Come see me tomorrow.”

“I have class, but after, okay?” she replied. Sasuke seemed a little put off that she had other obligations, but nodded.

“You have therapy Sasuke, remember?” Itachi said gently. Sasuke turned to his older brother and nodded. He grinned sheepishly.

“I forgot. I’m just so glad I can see you again.” he blushed. Sakura thought it was cute.

“I’ll see you soon.” she replied. She said good night to Sasuke’s parents and Itachi, then headed home.

Her parents were a little skeptical about Sakura hanging around Sasuke after what he had done to her. Sakura told them that she forgave him for what he did. He was making progress and he was genuinely remorseful for what he had done. All he wanted was to be with her. The true test would be when they could finally be alone again. That wouldn’t happen for some time.

Sakura got ready for bed. She heard her phone buzz on her desk. She turned, wondering who was texting her.

**_Hey babe._ **

That was weird. It wasn’t Sasuke’s number. This number wasn’t even saved to her phone.

_Sasuke?_

**_Nah. It’s Naruto._ **

_Who do you think you’re calling ‘babe’?_

**_Sorry, it was autocorrect. I wanna hang out with you. Sasuke called me, said he’s out of the looney bin or whatever._ **

_That’s not what it is._

**_Whatever. So wanna get coffee tomorrow or something?_ **

_Fine. Coffee. 1 o’ clock. I’ll meet you there._

**_Great. Can’t wait. See you then._ **

That was odd. Naruto wanted to hang out with her. She sighed and set her phone down. As she climbed into bed she thought it over. Naruto probably thought that Sasuke was out of the picture now, and that she was available. It made her feel kind of sick. She didn’t even have the advantage of him never getting to see her naked. Sasuke already ruined that for her when he made her have sex with him. Sakura decided to be nice and just let him know upfront that she was not interested in dating him. She still wanted to be with Sasuke. The memory of when Naruto was there stabbed her painfully. What would Sasuke say about that? Does he regret whoring her out? Sakura knew she couldn’t ignore the things he had done just because he wants to get better now. They still affected her.


	17. Chapter 17

Sakura went to get coffee with Naruto as promised after her classes. She was lucky they were all in the morning. She pulled her sunglasses on top of her head and ordered her drink. She scanned the shop looking for Naruto. He was not there. Once her drink was made, she sat at a table closest to the entrance so he’d be able to see her.

He was fifteen minutes late. Sakura had finished her coffee and was just about to text him when he stumbled in.

“Sakura, hey, sorry. I was caught up with something, and I just-” he noticed Sakura’s empty coffee cup. “How long have you been here?”

“Almost twenty minutes.” she replied.

“I’m so sorry. Here, let me get you something. Another coffee? What is that?” he asked.

“No, it’s fine. Just get what you want.” she sighed. Naruto grinned and went to get his drink.

He finally sat down and stared at Sakura. She was looking at the time on her phone, and calculating how long Sasuke had in his therapy session.

“Bored?” Naruto asked.

“I- No… I’ve been waiting. I’m going to see Sasuke after this.” she replied diplomatically. Naruto raised his eyebrows, nodded while he put his straw in his drink. It was a blended thing that Sakura, though she felt bad about it, judged him for. Even she didn’t order those. They were too sweet. He took a sip, then looked at her.

“How is he?”

Sakura could tell he couldn’t care less about how Sasuke was.

“Better. Much better.” she replied.

“So, he hasn’t beat you lately?”

Sakura sat back, absolutely dumbfounded. Naruto shrugged.

“What do you even want?”

“Look, if you think Sasuke had changed just because he’s been gone and he feels some sort of devotion to you now, you’re fucking dumb. Sasuke hasn’t changed. He just wants everyone to ignore him so he can be the asshole he is.” the blonde said.

“No. You don’t know him like I know him-”

“True, I’ve never fucked him, but I have fucked you, and I know you’d do anything for him.”

Angry tears sprung up in Sakura’s eyes.

“How dare you.” she said quietly.

“Hey, believe it or not I am on your side. I’m trying to help you before he hurts you.” he said. He reached for her hands folded on the table in front of her. She moved them off the table. Naruto smirked.

“What do you want Naruto?”

“I just want to hang out with you. You know, I don’t have the anger issues he does.”

Just as Sakura thought. Naruto was trying to get in her pants again. Sakura was beyond disgusted. He continued talking, but she couldn’t hear. She just stared at him: watching him shrug, continuing to talk. Wait, what was that?

“What?” Sakura asked him to repeat himself.

“I said I don’t need meds to function properly.”

That was the last straw for Sakura. Who the fuck does he think he is? Sure, Sasuke has a lot of problems, but at least he is trying to do better. And before they started dating he did really well in school. He was smart. Naruto… not so much. Sakura heard a rumor that he only graduated because the teachers didn’t want to deal with him anymore.

The pinkette found herself telling him this.

“I’m smart enough to not stay with someone who uses my face for a punching bag.” Naruto shrugged and went to take a sip of his stupid blended drink. Sakura angrily grabbed it and opened the top, flinging it all over him.

“Go to Hell.” she said, tossing the container in his lap. She started to leave, then turned around, “And by the way, your dick isn’t that big so find something to fall back on.”

She stormed out of the café, completely mortified about what she had just done. She noticed she was walking in a mindless direction until her phone buzzed. Luckily, it wasn’t Naruto. It was…Itachi?

**_Hey, it’s Sasuke. I’m not allowed to have my phone back yet, so Itachi is letting me use his. Are you coming over?_ **

_Yes, right now. I have some stuff to tell you._

**_Okay, sounds good. I’ll be waiting._ **

_Okay, ten minutes._

Sakura put her phone in her purse and practically ran to Sasuke’s house.

When Sakura arrived, Itachi let her in again. Sasuke was sitting on the couch watching TV. She thanked him, and went to sit.

“Hey, why are you out of breath?” Sasuke smiled upon seeing her. She took a deep breath and grinned.

“It’s a long story,” she replied. He muted the TV and turned his attention to her. “Naruto wanted to have coffee with me and he was a creep about it, so I dumped his drink on him and left.”

“That wasn’t that long of a story.” Itachi replied, sitting across from them.

“There’s more to it, but um, it’s kind of…personal.” Sakura blushed. She knew that Itachi had to be there as annoying as it was.

“What was it?” Sasuke asked. Sakura glanced at Itachi, then whispered in Sasuke’s ear. Sasuke blushed. “Oh! That…yeah. So, erm, was he trying to get you to date him or something?”

“I guess so.”

Itachi watched them both. He knew that it was something sexual; he was a little too smart for that. He also understood privacy. If he could leave, he would. But unfortunately, he was stuck babysitting as long as Sakura wanted to be there.

Itachi thought they were kind of cute together. He was upset that his brother would hurt such a beautiful girl. She seemed to really love him, despite his faults, and in a way Itachi admired that. The way they held hands; they looked like schoolchildren, whispering back and forth so he couldn’t hear. He technically didn’t need to monitor their conversations, as long as he was there to stop it if there should be an altercation.

“How was therapy?” Sakura asked, they had interlaced their fingers and were taking turns tickling each other’s hands.

“It was good. I feel good.” he replied. “How was class?”

“Great. Difficult, but I can handle it.”

“That’s my girl-” he reached to caress her face, but she flinched away, ripping her hand away from his. Sasuke was confused at first, then realized how it must have looked. Itachi had jumped up and told them to separate.

“Are you okay Sakura? What happened?”

“It was just a memory. It was a reflex, I’m sorry.” she glanced guiltily over to Sasuke, who was now frowning.

“Sasuke, are you okay?” Itachi turned his attention to his brother.

“I wasn’t going to hit her.” Sasuke said quickly, looking fearfully up at his brother.

“I know. I was watching. You’re okay.” Itachi went to put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, but Sasuke pushed him away first and stormed upstairs. The elder Uchiha glanced at Sakura before following his brother.

Sakura sat quietly waiting for them to return. Itachi came back a few minutes later.

“Sasuke is upset. He won’t be coming back down, so I think you should get home.”

She nodded and stood up, gathering her things. She told Itachi that she was sorry for triggering him.

“It’s not your fault. Sasuke may have problems that he needs to work through, but you were on the receiving end of those problems. I think you would benefit from seeing a counselor as well,” he reassured her. “What did you see? If I may ask.”

Sakura was silent. “I saw the first time he hit me. The first time I realized what he was capable of.”

“Why do you want to be with him still?”

“Because… I love him. He hurt me, but it really wasn’t his fault.” she reasoned. Itachi shook his head.

“I really think it would be best for you to stay apart while you get some help. You really need to work out what has happened to you.”

It didn’t seem unreasonable, but Sakura didn’t want to stay away from Sasuke. She wanted to go upstairs and cuddle with him, tell him that she’d never leave, that she’d help him with anything. It was just _one_ little memory. How bad could it be? Sasuke had apologized. She had forgiven him. Itachi said he’d drive her home, but he couldn’t leave Sasuke alone. She said it was fine, and left. Just like that he was out of her life again. For how long, she didn’t know.


	18. Chapter 18

Sasuke was distraught to learn that Sakura wouldn’t be visiting him anytime soon. It took Itachi and his mother a long while to convince him that it was for the best. He repeated that Sakura had said that she was fine. His mother replied that that may be true, but he did cause damage to her that would take a long time to heal. He replied that he understood, but he still wanted to see her. Itachi told him he would be able to see her as soon as she was comfortable. He attempted to explain why it was so bad for her to be around him, then quickly realized it fell on deaf ears. He made a note to tell his therapist to talk with him about it. Sasuke continued to be upset at not being allowed to see Sakura. He wasn’t going to hurt her. He hoped she would come back soon.

Sakura, meanwhile, had taken Itachi’s advice and went to see the college counselor. She began meeting with the counselor to discuss her issues, and was referred to another therapist who specialized in domestic abuse. The question she had been asked over and over was why? Why did she still love him? Why did she believe it was her fault? Why would she do it all over again? Why was she thinking about him in that moment?

The questions were harder and harder to answer. She had been told to think about why she wanted to be with Sasuke and write down three valid reasons why she wanted to go back to him. Sakura had a hard time with it. She forgave him for hurting her, she loved him, and she believed he was a good guy that made poor choices.

The following session she was asked to think about her reasons and think about how valid they were. It was a struggle. It was how she felt, so she didn’t understand how it wasn’t valid. Soon her therapist moved away from her reasons and asked her to talk about the instances of abuse and how she felt about them. It was embarrassing, since a lot of the abuse happened when they were having sex. She was asked how she felt about sex in general, what her feelings were about the actual act itself. Sakura replied that she had no problem with sex. She continued to think about it when she was alone. If Naruto hadn’t been such a jerk, would she have slept with him again? How would she feel about that?

She thought about it more, and figured if she was confronted with a sexual situation she might get scared if she didn’t trust the person. She had trusted Sasuke. He had betrayed that trust. She finally realized maybe they weren’t good for each other. Maybe he wouldn’t change. Maybe if she stuck around, eventually he would slip and hit her again. She didn’t want to believe it, because he had made progress and he was adamant that he loved her. She began to understand the full impact of what he had done to her.

* * *

It had been months since Sakura had seen Sasuke. According to Itachi, whom had kept in contact with her though sporadically, he had moved back into his apartment. He was deemed well enough to be by himself. Itachi also mentioned that he had given up on trying to get Sakura back. He seemed okay.

Sakura was pleased to hear that. She felt a little hurt that he had forgotten about her. She had spent so long wanting to be with him, and then so long convincing herself that what he did was okay, and then believed that he was wrong for abusing her but that she still loved him. He was able to get over her.

They ran into each other one day when Sakura was out getting groceries.

“Sasuke!” she called. He looked up at her and smiled at first, then frowned when he saw who it was.

“Hi Sakura.” he said once she had run up to him. She gave him a tentative hug.

“How are you? I haven’t seen you in so long.” she smiled as she looked him up and down. It was almost summer, so he was wearing a tank top and jeans.

“I’ve been good. How about you?” he asked.

“Great, yeah.” she grinned.

“You look good.” he said. She looked down at her pink dress and blushed the same color.

“Thanks, so do you. Itachi said you were going to college starting in the summer?” she asked. He nodded.

“That was a while ago. Things kind of changed. I got a job instead.” he said. She replied that she was proud of him. Something about him made her think he was uncomfortable seeing her. She soon knew why.

“Babe, they don’t have any of the cookies I want.” It was the voice of Sakura’s best friend Ino. Ino walked up to them and Sakura noticed that she was very pregnant, at least six months. “Oh hey Sakura! How are you?”

“You’re pregnant!” Sakura blurted.

“Haha, yes.” Ino smiled, rubbing her belly lovingly. Sakura looked from her to Sasuke, who shrugged and looked away.

“You two…?”

“Oh my gosh, yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, you know it just kind of happened. And look…” Ino flashed a diamond ring on her left ring finger in Sakura’s face. “We’re getting married in September.”

“Congratulations.” Sakura smiled. She was shocked beyond words.

“Thank you. We should go, my feet are killing me. See you later, Sakura! Call me sometime!” Ino said, grabbing Sasuke’s hand they walked away. Sakura watched them go, not sure how to feel that her ex ended up with her best friend.

Sakura finished her shopping and left the store. She was almost home when she rounded a corner and ran straight into someone, causing her to fly back and her shopping to go everywhere.

“Hey, what the-” Sakura was about to yell at whatever bozo wasn’t looking where they were walking, only to look up and see a gorgeous red haired boy standing above her.

“I’m so sorry, miss. Are you alright?” he offered his hand to help her up. Sakura straightened her skirt and took his hand. Once she was upright the boy grabbed her bags.

“Thank you.” Sakura said. He smiled at her, and she noticed he had the most beautiful light green eyes.

“My name’s Gaara.” he said.

“Sakura.”

“Could I get you a coffee or something to make up for knocking you to the ground?”

She wanted to decline at first, but then she nodded. “If you insist. That would be lovely.”

Gaara walked with her to her place so she could put her groceries away. She learned that he was from a neighboring country, here on business. He apologized for running into her, and she laughed. She apologized for almost screaming at him. He asked what she did and she explained that she was in college right now to become a doctor.

“Not to be too forward, but my country has the best medical facilities. You should transfer and work there. Honestly, we could use some more doctors.” Gaara replied.

“Is that a flirtation?” Sakura grinned.

“No, of course not.”

“What kind of business are you here on?” she asked. He sat back and smiled.

“Official business. That’s all you need to know.” he answered. Sakura was interested. He was young, about her age, and he was on “official business” from a neighboring country? Who was he?

“Wait… you’re-!” she started. He shushed her before she could blurt it out in the crowded coffeeshop.

“Yes, yes I am. But not everyone needs to know.”

“Wow, I am so sorry.” she was suddenly very embarrassed. 

“Please, don’t use titles or anything. This is fine.” he replied with a small smile.

Sakura could not believe it. She had run into an actual prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I left it open for a sequel with Gaara. Let me know what you think.


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